Shoe sole



April 21, 1970 F. VIEII'AS SHOE SOLE Filed may. 1968 United StatesPatent US. CI. 3659 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A shoe sole offlexible resilient material adapted for use on synthetic turf or runningmaterial. The lower surface of the sole is formed with a series ofridges extending across the sole. The ridges are each defined by wallslying in planes angular to one another with similar ridges arranged in aplurality of groups. The ridges of one group each have the planesbisecting the angle defined by its wall inclined toward the toe of thesole and the ridges of the other group each having the planes bisectingthe angle defined by its walls inclined toward the heel of the sole. Aseries of longitudinal or lengthwise extending grooves cut across theridges.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION With the advent of synthetic turfs which aremade of resilent materials and their increasing acceptance for use inindoor football and baseball fields and tracks, there has been anincreasing desire to provide improved footwear for use in connectionwith such material. Conventional cleated footwear is not acceptable forthis synthetic material because cleats damage the synthetic turf bycutting it and tearing it. Other footwear conventionally available andincluding, for example, sneakers and conventionally designed sneakers orshoes with ribbed soles have not been acceptable either because they donot provide satisfactory lateral gripping and because they have otherdefects which limit the wearers ability to run easily and turneffectively on the material.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the presentinvention to provide an improved sole construction which is adapted foruse in a wide variety of athletic footwear and which is especiallydesigned for use in connection with synthetic turfs of the typepreviously described.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved soleconstruction which is adapted for use on synthetic turfs of the typepreviously described but which is not prohibitively expensive and whichwill permit the adaption of the invention to athletic shoes sold atcompetitive prices. A further object of the present invention is toprovide improved shoe sole construction for use on athletic footwear ofthe type described in which the sole is designed for secure attachmentto the upper of athletic footwear.

In the present invention there is provided a shoe sole formed offlexible resilient material having a series of ridges on the lowersurface of the sole which extends transversely from one side to theother. The ridges are defined by walls lying in planes angular to oneanother. The ridges are arranged in a plurality of groups with theridges of one group each having the plane bisecting the angle defined byits walls inclined toward the toe of the sole and the ridges of theother group each having the plane bisecting the angle defined by itswalls inclined toward the heel of the sole.

3,507,059 Patented Apr. 21, 1970 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS Theforegoing objects and advantages of the present invention will be moreclearly understood when considered in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a footwear embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of a shoe sole embodying the invention; and

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional elevation taken along the line 3-3 of FIG.2.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings there isshown a shoe upper 1 'with a shoe sole 2. The shoe upper 1 is shown inoutline form and may comprise any one of a variety of footwear uppers.For example the upper 1 may comprise a track shoe upper, a footballupper, low cut or high out, a baseball upper or any other type offootwear upper that is used in a sport that is adapted to be played onsynthetic turf of the type made by such companies as Monsanto ChemicalCompany, or any other similar type of synthetic material having aresilient composition and which is intended to be used for athleticcontests in which it is desirable not to damage the material with cleatsor other relatively hard components of shoes.

For purposes of ease and description it will be assumed that the upper 1is intended for use as a low cut football shoe.

The shoe sole 2 is secured to the upper by conventional means ofstitching or cementing. The sole 2 however is provided with flatportions 3 and 4 respectively at its toe and heel so as to provide aflat surface at the heel and toe in which extra stitching 5 may beplaced to assure a relatively good interengagement between the sole andthe upper. A Wedge 7 at the heel extending from the rear of the shoeforwardly past the shank may be provided to raise up the heel portion ofthe wearer. This insert 7 may be secured by conventional and knowntechniques.

The sole 2 is provided with a series of ridges or transverse members 8.Each of these ridges 8 is defined by walls 9 and 10 which lie in planesangular to one another and intersect to form the edges 11 remote fromthe upper surface of the sole 2. The ridges 8 are arranged in aplurality of groups 13, 14, 15 and 16 with the ridges of groups 13 and16 each having the planes bisecting the angle defined by the ridge wallsinclined towards the toe of the sole, and the ridges of the other groups14 and 15 each having the plane bisecting the angle defined by the ridgewalls inclined toward the heel of the sole. While the number of groupsmay vary there are preferably four of such groups as illustrated. Thusthere is provided a sole in which there are alternate bands ofrearwardly and forwardly projecting ridges. The number of ridges in eachgroup are preferably substantially equal.

The overall height of the ridges preferably is in the order of A but mayvary depending upon the particular degree of traction desired,preferably within the range of 1 to /2". The wider wall -17 of eachridge is preferably inclined at angle to the horizontal of approximately45 while the angle of the narrower wall 18 is preferably at an angle ofbetween and to the horizontal. The sole 2 has an overall thickness whichmay vary depending upon the particular shoe design but preferably is inthe order of /2". It may vary from approximately A" to depending uponthe specific athletic footwear with which it is to be used. The heel endof the sole however, is slightly thicker and may taper from a uniformthickness forward of the instep to a wider portion which preferablyshould be about 25% thicker at the extreme heel end 19 than at the toeend 20.

The sole is provided with a series of grooves 21 that" extendlongitudinally of the sole and are cut into the ridges. These grooveshave a width in the order of A" to and preferably in the order of /2".The grooves are preferably at least 1" long and have a depth thatextends preferably at least one-half the height of the ridges. In thepreferred embodiment five of such grooves are provided, with two groovesin the heel extending parallel to oneanother across all of the ridgesthat form the heel portion of the sole. A single groove is providedlongitudinally across the shank. This single groove has its forward endextending on an axis angular to its rearward end. The two grooves in theforward part of the sole extend from the shank to the toe area and areangular to one another as illustrated.

It has been found that the grooves function to permit quick lateralmovement without slipping and it is believed the side edges of thegroove effectively dig into and engage the surface of the synthetic turfwithout damaging it. The forwardly and rearwardly inclined ridges permitrapid acceleration and deceleration while running without impairing therunners ability and without damaging the synthetic turf.

What is claimed is:

1. A shoe sole formed of flexible, resilientmaterial and having a seriesof ridges on the lower surface thereof extending transversely from oneside to the other, said ridges each defined by walls lying in planesangular to one another, said ridges arranged in a plurality of groupswith the ridges of a first-style group each having the plane bisectingthe angle defined by its Walls inclined toward the toe end of said soleand the ridges of a second-style group each having the plane bisectingthe angle defined byit's walls inclined toward the heel end of saidsole, the heel region of said sole having a first-style group extendingfrom the lower surface thereof, the toe region of said sole having asecond-style group extending from the lower surface thereof, the shankregion of said sole having both firstand second-style groups extendingfrom the lower surface thereof, and means forming a plurality of narrow,elongated grooves lengthwise of said sole and across said ridges withsaid grooves extendinginto said heel, toe, and shank regions.

2. A shoe sole as set forth in claim 1 having a plurality of saidgrooves in each of said toe and heel regions.

3. A shoe sole as set forth in claim 1 wherein a firststyle group onsaid shank is positioned closer to the toe area of said sole than saidsecond-style group on said shank.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,687,294 10/1928 HopWOOd.2,833,057 5/1958 .Hack. 2,981,011 4/1961 Lombardo. D. 190,162 4/1961Hubbard.

' FOREIGN PATENTS 249,549 9/1966 Austria. 1,434,840 2/1966 France.

ALFRED R. GUEST, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

